Automatic transmission



Aug V30, 1960 F. w. sEYBoLD 2,950,631

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed Feb. 26, 1959 I `INTOR.

Patented Aug. 30, i960 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Frederick W. Seybold, 1979 Dogwood Drive, Scotch Plains, NJ.

Filed Feb. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 795,842

12 Claims. (Cl. 74-677) This invention pertains to automatic power transmitting devices and particularly to those used with internal combustion engines or other applications that require variable speed and torque ratios. Such devices as referred to above are usually mounted between the engine and the shaft which drives the wheels of passenger cars, trucks, buses or military tanks and for other power transmission applications where multiplied torque for starting such vehicles from rest and thereafter bringing them into direct drive ratio are required.`

Today there are in use various combinations of fluid drives and planetary gear sets which are controlled by a governor and accelerator actuated valve which directs pressure oil to control elements consisting of clutches, uid couplings and brakes to produce the various speed and torque ratios. In transmissions which utilize a fluid coupling in place of a multiple plate clutch this coupling must be lled and emptied alternately and this must be done in a fraction of a second.

`Orl others of these transmissions a rather precise timing between the application aud/ or release of these control elements is required so that a minimum of shock is felt by the passengers of the vehicles in which such transmissions are installed. Furthermore these complicated hydraulic circuits are subject to malfunction and they are also expensive to manufacture.

Having these shortcomings in nnnd, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide the combination of a multiple turbine torque converter joined with a fluid coupling and a geared unit in a transmission characterized by its extreme simplicity and smoothness of operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide an automatic variable speed transmission which develops a high starting torque and in which the output torque progressively diminishes with an increase in car speed and which is capable of passing smoothly into the direct drive condition without benet of a governor, solenoid, direct drive clutch or the manipulation of other control elements.

An additional object of this invention is to provide means enabling the transmission to make the transition from a lower speed ratio into the direct drive ratio without perceptible shock, said means being a fluid coupling which remains filled at all times in all of its speed ratios.

Another object of this invention is to provide means 2 for maintaining the transmission in an underdrive ratio and over-rule its capacity to pass into the direct drive condition, this means is to be employed for hill braking or passing another Vehicle in trac.

This invention also includes the feature of utilizing the same gears for reverse operation and the provision of a hill-holding device which becomes automatically ineifective when the transmission is conditioned for reverse operation. This hill-holding device also performs a useful service when it becomes necessary to push-start the engine, as it provides a direct mechanical drive connection from the rear wheels of the vehicle to the engine crank shaft.

The above objects and advantages Will become apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section through a power transmission constructed according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a diagram of the pitch circles of the planetary gearing shown in Figure 1.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT In general, this transmission comprises the combination of a multiple turbine torque converter, a uid coupling and an interconnected planetary gearing arrangement controlled by brakes, whereby a high starting torque is provided for the rapid acceleration of a motor vehicle from standstill in either direction of motion.. The transmission is also capable through its own progressive action to produce a continuously decreasing torque with an increase in speed and nally pass into the direct drive ratio without shock.

The converter comprises .a pump member driven by the engine. The fluid discharged by the first turbine, which it received from the pump, irnpinges on the blades of the second turbine member, the latter being connected to the ring gear of the planetary gearing. The liuid discharged from the second turbine enters the stator element whose blades are shaped so that the fluid discharged from the stator enters the blades of the pump with a minimum of shock. The stator is operatively connected to a one-way brake which prevents its backward rotation while permitting it to rotate in the forward direction.

The planetary gearing comprises further a pair of sun gears, one of which is connected to the first turbine and the other sun gear is provided with means for braking it directly in either direction or only in the reverse direction of rotation, while permitting its free rotation forwardly. The planetary gearing comprises further a planetay pinion carrier which is connected to theoutput shaft of the transmission.

=On this carrier are mounted several long planet pinions Which mesh with the ring gear and the sun gear equipped with the braking means. Additional planet pinions are mounted on the carrier which mesh with the long pinions and the sun gear which is connected to the tirst turbine.

`An overrunning clutch is also provided whereby driving torque can be transmitted from the 4rst turbine and its connected sun gear to the engine drive shaft.

Another overrunning clutch is interposed betweenrthe carrier and the brake means associated with the sun gearV whereby reverse rotation of the output shaft is prevented when the transmission is conditioned for for- Ward operation.

A two-element fluid couplingof suitable size is positioned inthe `converter housing, one element of said coupling being connected to the rst turbine, while the other element is connected to the second turbine ofthe hydraulic torque converter previously described.Y

The speed ratio between the lirst and second turbine elements is, of course, determined byI the gear proportions of the p lanetarygearing. The second turbine ro-, Ytates atY lessV than one-halfY Ythe speed ofthe first turbine at starting. Y The lluid pumped by the impeller is thrown against the 'blades of the secondl turbine V'producing a'Y backward thrust whichV is transmittedto-its ring gear..

ForwardY rotation of the first kturbine and its connected sun gear will produce a'rreverse rotation of Vthe otherV sun gear which, however, is, prevented whenV eitherl or;

both brake elements associated'with said YsunY gear are applied.Y .Y jj

As the vehicle gains in Vvspeed Vthespeed ofrrotation of the first turbine element will approachgthat of ythe! drive shaft and pump and all the nid torque Will'thereafter be delivered by. the second turbine to its ring gear, the fluid discharged from the first turbine `having attained amore and more favorable entrance angle into the second turbine as the'iirst turbine increases its speed relative to the pump. Y

A further rise in engine Iand vehicle speed will bring about the condition whereby the first turbine.V attains the speed of the drive shaft butcannot exceed it, being y prevented by the previously mentioned overrunning clutch which is capable oftrausmitting torque from the irst turbine and its connected sun gear to the engine drive shaft.

All the engine driving torque is now multiplied in the converter only, the sun gear which serves asrthe reactionVV -member of the planetary gear arrangement will begin to rotate forwardly and cease its torque multiplying func,- tion. The torque delivered to the'ring gear is divided between the carrier and [the sun gearconnected to the g lirst turbine, the larger portion Ygoing to the carrier andV Gradually, however, both elements ofthe fluid coupling will attain approximately the same speed and directY drive ratio will then be established.

' Reverse operation of thetransmission is (secured by applying a brake band to va bralie drum integral: with the ringY gear, the brake means associated with Vthe sun gear being in their released condition.

STRUCTURALV ARRANGEMENT i The` transmisison illustratedrin Figure 1` may best be understood by dividing it into sevenYV assemblies.

ik i l. Tzerirvl'ngY assembly TheV driving assembly Vcomprises;,the drive shaft '10 which is connected to the casing 11 of the hydro-kinetic device A. Curved blades V12.7arej equally spaced betweenV outerj shell 1'3"and inner shell 14fonning the pump' or impeller of the torque converter. A huby 15 is attached to. Yshell 1,3VVV fand it'Y extends into .the stationary pump casing B, and a pinion 16 is fastened tosaid h ub. Pinion lsmeshes with Aan eccentrically positioned internal gear,

thereby Yforming a Well-known pump arrangement for supplying pressure oil for the operation of the transmission control elements. 1

2. The first turbine assembly 3. The second turbine assembly The second turbine assembly consists of the blades 27 mounted between 'outer' shell 2 Srand inner shell 29 and it is connected to theleft extremity Vof the tubular shaft 3G. The runner 31 of the fluid couplingA C is also connected tothe second turbine element. The right exi tremity `of the tubular shaft V3i) 'is connected to the web of the internally/toothed ring gear 32.

4,. T he stator assembly The stator assembly comprises thervaned elements 33 mounted between outer shell 34 and inner shell 35. Shell 34 is connected to a tubular shaft 36 to which inner race 37 of the overrunning brake 38 is attached, While the outer race`39 thereof is secured to the transmission casing D. Y

.5. VT he driven assembly The driven assembly comprises the planetary pinion carrier 4G on which are mounted the long planetary pinions 41 and the shorter pinions 42, the Vlatter meshing with the long pinions 41 and the sun gear 23. The long pinions 41 also mesh with the ring gear 32'. The output shaft 43is connected to the carrier 40, the latter has also mounted thereon the outer race 44 of .an overrunn'ing brake 45.

6. I'he reaction assembly The reaction assembly comprisesv the sun gear 46 which is fastened to tubular shaft 47 on which are mounted the inner race 43 of the brake 4S as well as the inner race 49 of Vthe overrunning brake 50, whose outerk race 51' is mounted in the brake drum 52. Another brake' Vdrum 53 is attached to the tubular shaft 47.

7. The VVcontrol mechanism v'Ihe control mechanismY comprises'the brake bands 54, 55, and 56 cooperating respectively with ring gear drum 32, brake ydrum 53V and brake Ydrum S2. Pressure oil from pump B is conducted to well-known brake applying cylinders through a valve controlled'manually or automatically and this method of Vcontrol being Vwell knownV in the art it is not a part of this invention.

oPERAIroN y A. IdlngV orY neutralV operation i VWhen the vehicle.brakesfareapplied .with the engine idling and all. control devices ofthe' transmission in their releasedqsettingas shown in Figure 1, the driven 'shaft 43 remains stationary. For thepurposeof illustrating the design ofy a transmission embodying this inyention the following gear proportionshav'e'been chosen: i i

'freeth Sun pinion 273 v Y' Y f' Y s l l8 Sungear 46 V Y i r 39 Planet pinion 41 V .'18` Planet pinion 42' i 25 Sear Y A 1.. 75

For one revolution of turbines 17 and 21 together with shaft 22 and sun pinion 23, the carrier 40 being stationary, turbines 27 and 31 together with ring gear 32 will make .240 revolution forwardly, while reaction sun gear 46 will rotate .462 revolution reversely.

B. Forward drive operation With the foot brake applied the nansmission control brake band 56 is applied to the brake drum 52, whereby the reaction sun gear 46 becomes stalled and the speed ratio between the second turbine 27-31 and the iirst turbine 17-21 will rise from the idling ratio of .240 to .480.

The speed ratio of the carrier 40 and output shaft 43 will now be .3157 revolution for each revolution of the iirst turbine 17-21. For illustration, assume that the shape of the blading of torque converter A is as shown in Figures 2 vand 3 of my Patent No. 2,763,163. Hence the discharged fluid from turbine 17 produces a backward thrust on the blades of the second turbine 27 at stall, as well as in the early stages of forward motion of the vehicle.

Torque multiplication in the gear set comprising sun pinion 23, planets 41 and 42 and the reaction sun gear 46 is 3.l67:1 and in the converter the torque multiplication is approximately 2:1, so that the gross torque multiplication would be 6.333:1. In other words, if the engine delivers 100 forward units of torque ythe iirst turbine produces 200 forward units of torque, then the gross output ltorque would be 633 forward units. The second turbine, due to the backward thrust mentioned above, produces 100 reverse units'of torque, and this torque is multiplied through the ring gear 32, planet pinion 41 and reaction sun gear 46 to 152 reverse units of torque, which when deducted from the gross output torque would be 481 forward units of output torque delivered to the output shaft 43. The reaction torque will, therefore be 381 reverse units.

The speed of both turbines continues to rise with increase of the engine speed, but the speed ratio between the turbines will be maintained until the speed of the iirst turbine equals the pump speed. As the speed of the rst turbine increases relative to that of the p ump the direction of iiuid entrance into the second turbine becomes more and more favorable and at a certain stage it will have an entrance direction whereby a forward thrust is produced on the second turbine, while the forward thrust of the iirst turbine gradually decreases.

The iiuid coupling C, being lled with iiuid at all times, does not contribute any forward torque at stall of the converter vbecause the turbines of the latter are not then in motion, but as soon as the speed of impeller 21'is great enough torque will be transmitted to runner 31.

When the condition is reached where the speed of the rst turbine 17 equals that of the pump 12 the transmission of torque from the pump to the first turbine will cease. The overrunning clutch 25 will prevent the first `turbine 17 from turning faster than the drive shaft 10. All the engine torque will now be delivered to the second turbine 27 and it will .be further augmented by the stator 33 in an amount depending on the speed ratio then prevailing :between the second turbine 27 `and the pump 12.

At the above indicated speed ratio of .480 the torque multiplication ratio in the converter A may be 1.60 times the pump torque, hence the second turbine 27 will deliver 160 units of torque yto internal `gear 32 when the engine produces 100 units of torque.

It should be noted here that the sun Igear 23 will receive torque from the internal gear 32 for driving the impeller 21 of the uid coupling C, said torque being imparted to the runner 31 which is connected to internal gear 32. This torque, which has been designated yas circulating or feed-back torque (F.B.T.), may be determined from the gear data as follows:

For simplicity the following abbreviations are made: (3) Converter torque, O.T.=160 units (4) Feed-back torque, F.B.T. (5) Torque on internal gear 32, LT. (6) Gross torque on carrier 40=3Sl25 (C.T.+F.B.T.) (7) Torque derived from carrier 40 to drive sun gear 23=19l6 F.B.T. (8) Reaction torque on sun gear 4G=Item -Item 5 (9) Net carrier torque=1tem -Item 7 16U=38l25 (160+F.B.T.)19l6 F.B.T. 160 150=228 (160+F.B.T.) -475 F.B.T.

24,000=36,480i228 F.B.T.-475 F.B.T. (1o) F.B.T.=-1-f7i=5o.5 umts (11) Torque on internal gear 32=1G0l50.5=210.5 units (12) Gross torque on carrier 40=38l25 210.5=320 units (13) Torque derived from carrier 40 to drive sun gear 23 and impeuer 21=19/6 F.B.T.=19/6 50.5:160 units (14) Reaction torque on sun gear LiGzItem 12Ite1n 11:

109.5 units The feedback ltorque, Item 10, may also be determined from the gear ratio Sun gear 23 l 8 24 Internal gear {i2-75' Therefore, if the internal gear torque is 210.5 units, the feed-back torque is 24% of 210.5 or 50.5 units, and the torque capacity of the iiuid coupling C must be large enough to transmit about one-half engine torque. As soon as the speed ratio Turbine 27 Pump 12 exceeds 25X 19-.480

the reaction sun gear 46 `ceases its function of'torque multiplication and it will lbegin to rotate forwardly.

However, 24% of the gross torque delivered to internal gear 32 will continue to be fed back to sun `gear 23 and impeller 21 of fluid coupling C and hence to its runner 31 and be combined with the torque of turbine 27, the latter being derived from the pump torque amplified by stator 33, to compose the gross torque of internal gea-r 32.

Conversely, if the feed-back torque is 24% of the internal gear torque then the latter must be 7%:1316 times the torque of turbine 27 so that when the speed ratio mle- 1 a roximat l Pump 12 pp e y then the torque of internal 'gear 32 will be 100 units of engine torque times 1.316 equal to 131.6 units, whereof 24% or 31.6 units will be :fed back to sun gear 23 and uid coupling C and units of torque will be delivered to carrier 40 and output shaft 43.

' Y For each forward revolution'of carrier 40 sunY gear f When the speed ratio Turbine 2" 9 Y Pump 12 the torque Vmultiplication ratio approaches unity, the circulating iiuid'of the converter will tend to rotate the statorforwardly'and"thenithe converter will operate as a uid coupling Vwitlfabout 2% slip `and then,direct 19 Vdrivecondition will have been attained.

Y Revolutions V(f1) Drive 'shaft 10 and pump-12 1-. Y I v ;;Y YH"le (2) First turbineV 17 1 1 1 i5 (3) Second turbine 27 .9800 (4) Carrier ..40and..sl1aft 43 .9863 (5)` Reaction sun gear 46 .9754

In fdirect dijivefratiothe efficiency of the transmission 4 will be 98.63% for a 2% slip condition in the converter 20v AVY and the uid coupling C.Y f y Y C. Pick-up or second gear operation D. Hill holder or no-rrolI-back As long las the brake bands S5 or 56 are in engagement with their respective brake drums Ythe overrunning brakef45 prevents the vehiclefrom rolling backwardly 35- whe'n it comes to a halt on an incline. This hill holding device -is a ygreat `convenience to the operator when he t again wishes to move forwardly. Dextrous manipulation of the footl or'emergency brake and accelerator is Ithereby eliminated. When the transmissionris set in vneutral 40v or reverse operation reaction sun'gear 46 will rotate reversely at a higher rate lthan carrier 40, therefore, the brake 45 becomes automaticallyineffective.

' Y Y Y E. lPlilsh starting thevelz'cle 4.5 Since overrunning brake 45 preventsy reverse rotationYV Vof the carrier 40 relative to reaction sun gear 46, conversely, brake 45 prevents forward rotation of sun gear 46 relative to the carrier V40. When the vehicle is pushed 46 would make'1.46 forward revolutions, if there were no brake V45 inthe transmission, because the latter would prevent any forward rotationV of sun 'gear 46 relative 70 i to.V carrier Y 40. M

Now let us 4assume that the overruiming clutch 25 is omitted from the transmision and internal gearSZ remains stalled when carrier 40 rotates forwardly, then theplanetary motion of pinions 41`and 42`woi1ld` reverse 7'5 8 rotation Ito sun gear 23 and forward yrotation to reaction sun gear46 as shown below:

carrier' sungear 23 sun' gear 46 Internal 40 gear 32( 1 L ,Holdo'm 5-75/15 g 4475/397` ,1

For each forward revolution of carrier 40 sun gear 46 WouldinakeZQZ -forward revolutions, ithere were no llrfaken45, butfthe latter wouldprevent anirr forward rotationof gear 46 relative 'toV carrier` 40 if present in the tran'smission.V s Y ,Ithas now been demonstrated that overrunning brake 45 is a valuable componentsof the-transmission because it Aserves asY a hill holder Vas well asmaking it possible to push start the engine without the otherwise necessary pump on the output shaft -to lsupply pressure oil to the forward fbraliebands 55- or 56.V

' Y F; Reverse oprationV ForV reverse operation of the 'transmission the brake band54 isappliedto the Vinternal ygear drum 32 and brake'bands 55 and 56 Vare now in their Ireleased condition. Internal gear 32, `as Well as the connected turbines 27 and i'will now beheld stationary,and in accordance vwith'the given gear data the driven shaft 43 will make %'9 revolution-revers'ely for onerforward revolution of theV drive shaft 1'0.V However, its torque will be 3.67 to 7.34 times engine torque, depending on the speed ratio between the irst turbine 17 Vand .the pump 12 of the converter.

The'reaction sungear 46 makes 1%3 reverse revolution `for one forward revolution of Vturbine, 17 .and its connected sun pinion 23'. Since theV reverse speed of rotation of sun gear 46 isV almostV 3 times faster than that of the driven shaft 43 Vthe h ill holding brake 45 will not interfere with reverse rotation of the driven shaft. The design ofrthe transmission illustrated in Figure 1 has now been describedV `and its operation explained in detail yand therefore it will'be obvious that various modiii'cations, rearrangements and minor improvements will suggest themselves "to those skilled in the art. For example, the uid coupling C maybe positioned between the converter and the planetary gearing, or the band type brakes. t Y

It should further be'understood that the gear proportype brakes maybe replaced with multiple plate orcone Y Vtions used in describing the invention are subject to considerable variation to VVaccommodate'various operating conditions andtsuch modications and rearrangements shall come within the scope of the following claiins.

K I claim: Y Y Y 1. A variable speed and torque transmission comprising in combination, coaxial drive and driven shafts', a multiple element hydraulic torque converter, a 'uid Ycoupling and planetary gearing, said converter having a pump, first and second turbines, and a stator having one-way brake kmeans thereon and interposed between said pump and said'second turbine, said pump being g, connected to said Ydrive shaft, said planetary gearing comprising a single carrier connected to said driven shaft,

an internal gear, iirst and second sun gears, irst plane- Y tary pinions one' said carliertmeshing withgsaid internal gear and said second sun gear, second planetary pinions on said carrier meshing with said rst sunV gear and'y said first planetary pinions; Vbrake meansV connnected to,Y saidV second sunV gear, saidY uid coupling comprising animpeller and a runner, said impeller being connected to said iirst turbine and "said iirstsun gear, Vsaid runner being connected to said second turbine and said internal gear. i

2. A Variable speed and torque transmission accordfn' ing to ciaim 1, including in addition thereto means for braking said internal gear and its connnected second turbine and runner, said means comprising a rotatable element on said internal gear and stationary engaging means in cooperating relation therewith, whereby reverse rotation of said carrier and its connected driven shaft will result when the brake means on said internal gear is engaged and the brake means on said second sun gear is released.

3. A variable speed and torque transmission as set forth in claim l, including in addition thereto one-way clutch means between said drive shaft `and said rst sun gear and its connected rst turbine and impeller, whereby torque may be transmitted from said first sun gear to said drive shaft.

4. A variable speed and torque transmission as set forth in claim` 1, including in addition one-way brake means connected to said second sun gear.

5. A variable speed and torque transmission as set forth in claim 1, including in addition one-way clutch means between said carrier and said second sun gear, whereby reverse rotation of said carrier is prevented when said second sun gear is stationary.

6. A variable speed and torque transmission as set forth in claim l, including in addition thereto one-way clutch means between said drive shaft and said first sun gear, and one-way clutch means between said carrier and said second sun gear, whereby forward torque may be transmitted from said driven shaft to said first sun gear and therefrom to said drive shaft.

7. A transmission comprising coaxial input and output shafts and torque multiplying means interposed between said shafts, including a hydrokinetic torque converter composed of a bladed pump, first and second turbines, a stator interposed between said pump and said second turbine, and interconnected planetary gearing comprising a piantary pinion carrier, a ring gear, first and second sun gears, first planetary pinions on said carrier meshing with said ring gear and said second sun gear, second planetary pinions on said carrier meshing with said first sun gear and said rst planetary pinions, and a fluid coupling composed of an impeller and a runner, and control means including one-way brake means on said stator, brake means and one-way brake means on said second sun gear, said first turbine being connected to said impeller and said first sun gear, said second turbine being connected to said runner and to said ring gear, said pump being connected to said input shaft, and said carrier being connected to said output shaft, whereby torque applied at the ring gear is divided, a larger portion of said torque being transmitted to said carrier and output shaft and a smaller portion thereof being transmitted to said first sun gear and its connected impeller and fed back through said runner to said ring gear, the reaction torque imposed on said second sun gear being relieved and an approximately one-to-one transmission ratio is attained.

8. A transmission as set forth in claim 7, including in addition thereto one-Way clutch means between said input shaft and said first sun gear and its connected first turbine and impeller, whereby torque may be transmitted from said first sun gear to said input shaft.

9. A transmission as set forth in claim 7, including in addition thereto one-way brake means between said carrier and said second sun gear, whereby reverse rotation of said carrier and its connected Output shaft is prevented, when said second sun gear is held stationary.

10. A transmission as set fortn in claim 7, including in addition thereto one-way clutch means between said input shaft and said first sun gear, and one-way clutch means between said carrier and said second sun gear, whereby forward torque may be transmitted from said output shaft to said first sun gear and therefrom to said input shaft.

11. A transmission as set forth in claim 7, including in addition thereto means for braking said second turbine and connected ring gear, whereby reverse rotation of said carrier and connected output shaft will occur when the brake means cooperating with said second sun gear are released.

l2. ln a variable speed mechanism for delivering uninterrupted torque from a drive shaft to a coaxial driven shaft, comprising in combination a muiti-turbine hydraulic torque converter interconnected with a fluid coupling and planetary gearing, and control means, said torque converter comprising a pump connected to said drive shaft, rst and second turbines, and 4a stator having one-way brake means thereon and positioned between said pump and said second turbine, said fluid coupling comprising an impeller and a runner, said planetary gearing comprising a ring gear, Erst and second sun gears and a carrier connected to said driven shaft, first planetary pinions on said carrier meshing with said ring gear and said second sun gear, second planetary pinions on said carrier and meshing with said first sun gear and said first pianetarypinions, said first turbine being connected to the impeller of said fluid coupling and to said first sun gear, said second turbine being connected to the runner of said fluid coupling and to said ring gear, said control means comprising brake means and one-way brake means cooperating with said second sun gear, brake means cooperating with said ring gear, one-way clutch means between said first sun gear and said drive shaft for transmitting forward torque from said first sun gear to said drive shaft, one-way brake means between said carrier and said second sun gear for transmitting reverse torque from said carrier to said second sun gear, or conversely, for transmitting forward torque from said carrier to said first sun gear and to said drive shaft.

References Cited in the iile of-this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 

